AMA - The Divorcee: Day 01

- Jones, Cassandra - Affection Score: 86. (+4)

Love Score: 29 (+7)

Lust Score: 57 (+28)

You're not sure how to interpret that Affection Score since it doubled after one interaction earlier; but, then again, it is possible she had the perception of you as a trusted parental figure before she moved out and it only decayed over time due to not seeing you, but resurged after seeing you again... Okay, a bit of a stretch but not entirely impossible.

If that's the case, that means she has a teenage infatuation with you to the point of wanting to go steady, and also probably has thoughts of banging you. Again, both not outside the realm of possibility; especially after noticing how she looks at you sometimes.

With all that being said, you decide it's time to test how magical this thing might actually be; which is why you're staring at the glossary for Traits which you unlocked after maxing Stella's Affection score.

Traits : By buying Traits, you can artificially add qualities and characteristics to yourself or someone you know. These Traits do not completely alter the personality of a person, but are integrated in a seamless way to mix with their natural idiosyncrasy.

-Example: If you buy the Trait "Loves Dogs" for a person who hates dogs, this individual will not simply start loving dogs, but will slowly come to the realization that dogs are not so bad, then they will like them, then they will love them. The period of time for this change varies depending on the trait and the person it's bought for.

There are 3 types of traits:

- Friendship Traits : They're bought using Friendship Points. They affect friendly relationships and social characteristics.

- Romantic Traits : They're bought using Love Points. They affect romantic relationships and intimate interactions.

- Sexual Traits : They're bought using Lust Points. They affect sexual relationships and fetishes.

You can cancel any trait's effect at any time, but you won't get a point refund. For more information, read each Trait's description.

Friendship, Love and Lust Points : You earn 50 points each time you reach a score of 50 in any progress bar with a different person for the first time.

Available points: 150 Friendship points / 0 Love points / 100 Lust points

Yeah, that makes sense. Based on the given example, about the "Loves Dogs" trait, it gave you an idea to test if this thing could be real or not. In the Traits Catalogue, when you sorted it by Most Recommended, you found exactly what you were looking for.

-Non-smoker (10 pts): You form the habit of not smoking. Any smokers who acquire this trait will eventually quit for good without suffering from any physiological side-effects during the transition.

If you buy this for yourself and for Stella, and you both quit cold turkey, you wouldn't deny it any longer. Magic is real, and you've been given a way to utilize it.

You buy the trait for both you and Stella. You appreciate the fact that this magical app treats Trait buying with seriousness, since it asked you to confirm twice if you were sure about what you were purchasing. You've checked the other recommended traits that you can currently afford, and the Non-smoker trait's probably the cheapest and most practical way to test if this magic is real or not. Best case scenario, magic is real and you just found a painless way for you and your daughter to quit a vice; worst case scenario is that you're losing your mind. Seems like a fair trade.

Having thought it through, you confirmed twice both times that you're buying the traits for you and your daughter. With that, the app updates your points:

Available points: 130 Friendship points / 0 Love points / 100 Lust points

No turning back now. You start your car's engine and drive home.

Author's Note: The glossary for Traits, the explanation for the different points and how the point system works are all from Fantasy's David Walker branch.

I am aware of the issue of introducing a Trait to someone without their consent, and I will hopefully address that in-story some other time in the future (Although I have a general plan, I'm writing this as I go along so not sure when that'll happen, but I do hope to address it). As for now, I decided to use a trait that wouldn't be too controversial to give someone without their permission. I have nothing against smoking as I'm a smoker myself, but my parents definitely prefer I wasn't; and I hopefully gave a solid enough hint in the previous chapter that Stella just started smoking recently as a coping mechanism, and not something she actively wishes she was doing.

CHAPTER 10.1

What happens when you get home?

A pinky swear and a movie.

"Stella, you want to take a smoke break?" you ask your daughter.

You, Stella, and Cassie have probably spent about an hour cleaning up the rest of your apartment after you got home from buying the groceries. Since you and the girls are just about finished, and you'll probably prepare dinner after this, you decided to see if your experiment with the magical Trait you bought from the Affection Multiplier app was working.

"Ew, no." Stella immediately reacts, and Cassie chimes in right after with, "You're okay with her smoking?"

"Not that I'm okay with it, but Stella's an adult now. It's not like I can magically make her stop, so might as well accept it for what it is." Real subtle, Jay.

Hey, wait a minute, she didn't have to sound so disgusted by the idea.

"Reverse psychology, really? Stella says with an unimpressed look.

"It's not reverse-anything, baby. You were right for calling me a hypocrite. I just thought we could talk some more."

Stella stops sweeping the floor entirely, and just stares at you annoyed. "Dad, I didn't call you a hypocrite. I asked you not to be one. So if you want to smoke, smoke; if you want to talk, talk. You don't have to force yourself to get comfortable with it. I know you'd rather have me stop --" "Yes" Cassie interjects, to which Stella raises her hand towards her direction to tell her not to interrupt her again. "I know you'd rather have me stop, so don't bother acting like 'cool dad' and pretend you're okay with it, when you're not".

You stopped yourself from telling her you're okay with it just to continue the ruse, you'll just annoy her further. You know you're not okay with it. She's on an athletic scholarship for chrissake. More than that, you even hoped magic could influence you and her to kick the habit. It makes you rub the back of your neck, feeling guilty that you tried to make your daughter a guinea pig.

"Look, I started thinking about it while you were out. If you want me to quit, I will." You look at her shocked. That's the 'magic' talking right?

"But you have to quit too. Deal?" she asks you, raising her pinky in your direction. Right now, it doesn't matter if this is because of magic or not, you smile and go to your daughter to lock your pinky with hers. "Deal."

You're preparing dinner now while the girls take showers. While waiting for the water to boil before you drop the pasta in, you can't help but think if the trait you bought worked that quickly. Having bought the trait for yourself too, you admittedly haven't had the itch to smoke since; but a part of you also thinks maybe you just don't want to, and now with the pinky swear, you also don't want to break your promise with your daughter. Would Stella ask you to make that deal if you didn't buy the trait for her? Maybe the 'non-smoker' trait wasn't the best way to test this magical app after all.

"That was so good, Mr. Craig. It's still as delicious as I remember." Cassie compliments you after dinner. "Yeah, Dad. Can't believe you kept ordering take out and pizza when you're a pretty good cook." Stella chimes in. You smile in response, but you look at the plates then towards the sink and Stella understands what you mean. "Ugh. How lazy can you get?" she remarks. "No more of that, okay?" she immediately adds, she places her hand on your forearm that was on the table with a smile of assurance. You place your hand on top of hers and nod.

"Anyway, since 'lazy-pants' over here doesn't like doing dishes, how about you two pick a movie or show we could watch while I do the dishes this time?"

...

The three of you watched a surprisingly enjoyable horror/comedy meets 'Groundhog Day'. You and the girls had a couple of beers while watching, and Stella placed your arm around her shoulder and rested her head on your chest after finishing her second bottle, and you couldn't help but think how much you've missed her.

"This movie has a sequel, you guys wanna' check it out?" Cassie asks. "I'll say yes to that" you answer, having genuinely enjoyed the movie. "It's a no from me. I'm getting kinda' sleepy actually" Stella replies. "But don't let me stop you guys from continuing."

Stella stands up from the couch, and starts to head towards her room. "G'night, baby!", you shout out to her. "Behave you two!" she jokingly shouts back. Cassie is clearly blushing from that remark by Stella. You both hear the door to Stella's room close, and you immediately feel the awkward tension between you and Cassie.

CHAPTER 11.1

What happens next?

A whole lotta nuthin'

"Would you like another beer Mr. Craig?" Cassie suddenly asks. "Uh- yeah, sure" you answer her, and she stands up from the couch. Now that you're alone with her, you can't help but notice how long her legs are, and how they're barely being covered by the athletic shorts she's wearing. You see her bend to get the beers out of the mini-fridge, making her stick her ass out, giving you the perfect view. You immediately look away. The divorce may have been finalized just a few months ago, but you haven't had sex way before that.

You mentally slap yourself again. 'This is your daughter's best friend! A girl you used to babysit since she was a child. Stop being a creep.' She hands you your beer and sits right next to you on the couch. "Cheers" she says, and you respond in kind, clinking your bottles together. You can't help but notice how close she is to you now. Her shoulder in contact with yours, the bare skin of your arms sticking to each other due to the sweat. You can't help but feel she's conscious about it too.

"Mr. Craig?" she says to get your attention. You turn towards her, and you accidentally make eye contact. Although she's not leaning towards you, you feel her face is dangerously close to yours. "Aren't you going to start the movie?" she asks. Her question makes you turn back to the TV and it was still on the menu screen of the movie. You awkwardly laugh at spacing out and press play.

...

You have no idea what's going on in this movie anymore. As soon as she cuddled next to you, and wrapped your arm with hers, you haven't paid attention to anything other than the feeling of her soft breasts pressing into your arm. To your surprise, she rests her head on your shoulder, and from the corner of your eye you can see her cleavage. The boner you've been trying to hold back is slowly becoming noticeable, and the tightness in your crotch area is becoming uncomfortable.

"Bathroom break" you tell her. You immediately stand up, which abruptly breaks her hold of you, and you head to the bathroom. Once inside, you immediately turn on the faucet and splash your face with water to try and calm yourself down. You check the Affection Multiplier out of curiosity and it only makes you feel worse.

- Jones, Cassandra - Affection Score: 91. (+5)

Love Score: 35 (+6)

Lust Score: 78 (+21)

'No, Jay. This isn't real. This girl isn't into you, nor does she want to bang you. You're only thinking that because this thing planted that idea in your head' you tell yourself. You splash your face with water once more.

Thinking a bit more clearly now, you realize that even if this thing is real, that's still your daughter's best friend. You do something stupid tonight, you'll not only ruin your relationship with Cassie, but you'll probably ruin your relationship with Stella too.

You take deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling slowly through your mouth. It helps calm you down, but you know that any more interactions with that girl will only rile up your fantasies.

You open the bathroom door and Cassie immediately calls out to you, "Mr. Craig?" she asks with concern in her voice.

"I think I drank too much. Can we continue the movie some other time?" you ask, keeping your distance from her.

"Of course. Are you feeling alright?", she asks. She stands up and starts walking towards you. You can't help and get a full view of her long legs and svelte hourglass figure.

"I-I'm fine. Just need to sleep it off probably," you reply.

She's getting closer.

"We should both probably go to bed."

She's almost right in front of you. In panic, you open the door leading to the hallway, "I-uh, I'll just take a smoke break-go-to-bed-now-good-night" you say in a rush, leaving the apartment and closing the door behind you.

...

"I guess we both had the same plans."

CHAPTER 12.1

Who is it?

Tanya

You see your neighbor Tanya in a black lace bustier, her shoulders and arms covered by a cropped jacket. She's also wearing tight leather pants and some gladiator heels. She's by her door, which is across from yours; just about to leave for a night out from the looks of it.

"Oh, I-uh, I just needed to get out of the apartment" you tell Tanya, which elicits a laugh from her.

"Stella already driving you crazy?" she asks jokingly, so you assume it's rhetorical. "Well, I was just on my way out to grab a drink --" she says, as she locks the door of her apartment.

"Care to join me?"

'Why did you say yes?', you ask yourself.

You find yourself at a trendy bar downtown sitting in a booth across Tanya. She took off her cropped jacket, revealing her bare arms and shoulders, as well as a better view at her ample cleavage. You were already having trouble with your fantasies with Cassie, and now Tanya's not exactly helping in clearing your mind of perverted thoughts.

She leans into the table and you can't help but glance at her chest. Is she doing this on purpose? "So --" she says, breaking the silence, but doesn't continue. You look at her in the eyes now, she has a smirk on her face. Probably noticed you glanced at her cleavage.

"Haven't seen you in a while", she finally adds. You awkwardly smile and rub the back of your neck again.

"Yeah, I-uh, I've been... busy", you reply.

"Making progress on your new book, I'm guessing?" she asks.

"Yeah, it's actually pretty much done. Just a few more minor changes."

"Can't wait to read it." she tells you, but you're not really sure if she was being honest.

Another lull, and the silence is getting awkward now. Tanya stands up.

'Shit. She's definitely not having a good time. You only just got here and she already wants to leave.', you think to yourself.

To your surprise, she sits next to you instead, putting her arm around you, while her other hand rests on your lap. The soft skin of her chest makes contact with your arm, and your dick can't help but twitch.

"Jay, relax. We're here to have a good time." she tells you sweetly, the hand around you now playing with your hair from the back while the hand on your lap slowly rubs your thigh.

She's looking at you eye-to-eye with a mischievous smile, her face coming closer to yours. You can feel her warm breath hitting your lips. She holds the back of your head, pushing you towards her. Your lips meet. You realize this is the first time you've kissed anyone since Diane. More than that, this is the first time you've kissed anyone other than Diane.

"We'll need to work on that" Tanya says, after breaking the kiss. You're still in shock at how quickly this is going.

"Tanya... why?" was all you could muster as a response in your shocked state.

She gives an amused laugh in response. When she notices you're genuinely curious, she answers, "Why not?"

After that, you loosen up a bit. Maybe it's the additional alcohol in your system, or maybe because Tanya really is just a fun person to hang out with; either way, you let your inhibitions go. After a few hours of conversing, drinking, and flirting (mostly from her end), she asks for the check. "I'll just go to the restroom, then we can head home. Sound good?", but she didn't really wait for your response and headed straight to the restroom.

The bill arrives and you wonder if you should wait for her to split it. Did she want you to pay for all of it? It's not like you're cheap, you just feel used if that's what she intended. 'Nah. Probably not'. You give the woman your card to pay for the bill. You had a good time, it's the least you can do.

You check your phone and can't help yourself from checking the Affection Multiplier.

- Ramirez, Antonia - Affection Score: 50. (+9)

Lust Score: 81. (+14)

If you believe this, then she really does want to hook up; but it's not like you didn't know that already. She asked you out of nowhere, kissed you out of nowhere, and flirted with you the entire time you were here. She didn't do all that just to blue ball you right?

You go to the Trait Catalog and see which Traits the App recommends to you the most.

-Great Kisser (10 pts): Your kisses give your partner small amounts of sexual pleasure.

Yeah, sounds about right. 'Why not buy it? What do I have to lose?' you ask yourself.

Fuck it. I blame it on the alcohol.

Available points: 180 Friendship points / 0 Love points / 90 Lust points

After buying the trait, the waitress comes back with the paid bill and your card. You leave a few dollars as a tip. Tanya returns from the restroom, grabs her jacket, and asks, "Shall we go?"

You both share a cab and head for home.

CHAPTER 13.1

What happens once you're in the cab?

You start to believe

Once inside the cab, Tanya takes your arm, places it around her shoulders, and leans her head into yours. "I had a great time tonight Tanya", you tell her.

"Oh, Papito, the night's just beginning." You feel her move her head to look at you, and you turn your head towards her.

You're now facing each other, and she's looking into your eyes, while you can't help but look at her luscious lips. She leans in closer, and this time, you don't wait for her to close the distance. Your lips meet and a moan escapes from her mouth. You take that as a sign and slip some tongue in. She wrestles your tongue with hers, and you both passionately make out in the backseat of the cab. Her moans steadily grow louder, as your make out sessions become more and more intense. She places one hand on the back of your head, while the other caresses your face. She leans back into the seat forcing you on top of her, and you can't help but touch her body for support.

"You guys want me to park somewhere and give you an hour?", the cab driver asks, breaking your lust-filled trance. Tanya's out of breath, but tells the cab driver to keep driving. "Then No Fucking. I ain't cleanin' up after you two unless I get some too. This is Fake Taxi, not Bang Bus" he tells both of you.